


5 Times They Met in a Coffee Shop (You Won't Believe What Flavour He Ordered the 3rd Time)

by themorninglark



Category: Free!
Genre: Background RinRei, Coffee Shop, F/M, Haruka and all his friends, Post-Canon, University era, who needs enemies when you have friends like these
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-04 02:19:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5316845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themorninglark/pseuds/themorninglark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Nanase-kun!” Yazaki Aki calls, breathless and laughing. “I always wondered if I'd see you in here, one day."</p><p>“I don't like coffee,” Haruka tells her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Times They Met in a Coffee Shop (You Won't Believe What Flavour He Ordered the 3rd Time)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ad_Astra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ad_Astra/gifts).



> I was inspired by that Clickbait Titles post on Tumblr. Initially, I tried to make it funny. I GAVE UP VERY QUICKLY, I CAN'T DO HUMOUR TO SAVE MY LIFE RIP, but I hope it is as fluffy as you'd ever wish for these two. Also, coffee is great. Also, the RinRei is an extra tiny little something for you ;)
> 
> Happy HaruAki Party Dani!!! <3

**1\. dragged by that one friend (you know how stubborn guys are)**

"No," says Haruka, flatly.

Nagisa crosses his arms and puffs his cheeks out in a delightful impression of a _fugu_. His curls frame his face like little blowfish spikes.

Haruka, not to be swayed, says, "I don't even like coffee."

"That's not the _point_ , Haru-chan. The point is, people-watching!"

Nagisa says this like it is meant to be enticing to him. It is not particularly enticing to him.

Beneath their feet, the bus continues its stately, meandering journey through the streets of suburban Tokyo. It's grey outside, the kind of grey that makes Haruka consider, with fondness, the subject of warm indoor pools, and being immersed therein. Light flecks of rain dot the window.

Nagisa, pressed up by his side, is like a miniature space heater.

"People-watching in the  _city_ ," he singsongs into Haruka's ear.

"I see people all the time," Haruka retorts.

Nagisa looks up at him, wide-eyed and plaintive. "But _I_ don't."

 _I give up_ , thinks Haruka as he slumps down in his seat.

They get off at a stop near his university. Nagisa leaps into puddles feet first with his yellow rain boots, tugs on his oversized beanie and completely neglects the umbrella sticking out of his bag's side pocket. That suits Haruka well enough. He's never made a habit of bothering with umbrellas anyway, and Makoto is not here now to _make_ him, and today, since Nagisa is visiting, _fine_ -

He'll let it be a day of rebellious behaviour and firsts, for his sake.

Haruka can think of only one coffee shop in the vicinity. It always looks crowded from the outside, full of students with dark-rimmed glasses, stacks of books and turtlenecks. It's also all the way on the other end of the campus, across the road and one block down from the Literature and Humanities building, so Haruka has never even thought of going there. 

He makes his way there now, Nagisa trailing wet footprints on the pavement as he  _ooh_ s and  _aah_ s over every new sight.

The door's set with frosted glass panes, misted over in white. The smell of freshly roasted beans assaults Haruka's senses as he pushes it open. He tries to breathe, wrinkles his nose and sneezes. Briefly, he contemplates turning around and walking back out into the blessed rain shower -

But then Nagisa squeals and rushes forward, nearly knocking him over, and Haruka has to grab on to the doorframe to steady himself.

" _Zaki-chan!_ Is that you?"

Haruka blinks. He stares. He looks away.

He looks down at his damp canvas sneakers, soaking through the happy yellow _WELCOME!_ mat, and contemplates, in turn, the universe, its sense of humour, and the spare change in his pocket.

He walks up to the counter in something of a daze.

There's a framed cat poster on the wall behind the cake display. It makes Haruka think of his backyard. He notes that the counter facade is made up of, of all things, rows of red brick. The graffiti covering them is far more tasteful than their twelve-year-old scribblings.

Nagisa, balancing on the edge of his palms, teeters dangerously into the personal space of the cash register itself. If he leans over any further, he'll -

Wobble on his tiptoes, topple bodily across the counter and throw his arms around the girl with short hair.

 _Oh,_ thinks Haruka. _Okay, then._

“Nanase-kun!” Yazaki Aki calls, breathless and laughing, as Nagisa slowly but surely squeezes the life out of her, and Haruka makes an abortive attempt to save his old classmate by tapping Nagisa on the shoulder a few times. It doesn't work.

The corners of her eyes crinkle appreciatively nonetheless.

She grew up petite. A little shorter than Nagisa. Her face is thinner, more carefully shaped now, in the way that faces get, when they go through that magical metamorphosis between childhood and awkward adolescence, but it is an unmistakable face still. Sweet, yet -

Lemon-tart in the quirk of her lips, cinnamon in her eyes, spicy in places that never fail to surprise him.

"Hello," says Haruka.

“I always wondered if I'd see you in here, one day," she says, as Nagisa finally lets go, but not without one final head-nuzzle into her shoulder.

“I don't like coffee,” Haruka tells her.

 

 

**2\. in the wake of the inevitable fallout from an unsuccessful avoidance strategy**

He picks the table furthest away from the front, tucked into a corner where he can't see the counter. It isn't a difficult choice to justify.

"This is where it's warmest," he tells Makoto.

Makoto, hidden beneath a puffy jacket and checkered muffler in brown and green, sets down two white cups and slides Haruka's across the table to him.

"Yes," says Makoto, looking around the homely wooden furnishings of the small cafe. "It is warm here, isn't it?"

"Yes," Haruka echoes. "It is."

He takes off his own jacket, feeling uncomfortably hot around the neck and collar.

"I'm sure you chose it for that reason. Thank you, Haru."

Haruka stares at him with narrowed, dead eyes.

Makoto smiles beatifically.

He proceeds to whip out his phone and takes at least ten photos of the adorable cat latte art that adorns his coffee. It has pointy ears and whiskers that curl at the ends.

Haruka, drinking his tea, notes with a dispassionate interest that there is some writing on the napkin that sticks out from beneath the cup.

"Someone slipped you their number again," he observes.

Makoto turns his saucer round, sees the hasty scribble in blue ink and groans. " _Again_?"

"Was it Yazaki?" asks Haruka.

Makoto shakes his head. "Zaki-chan's on cashier duty today. She only makes coffee on Wednesdays and Fridays."

Haruka allows himself a moment to marvel, once again, at how much Makoto can draw out of a person in the space of seeing them for less than ten minutes.

All around them, low-key instrumental Christmas carols, jingling bells and dreamlike piano, hum tinnily out of the cafe's speakers. It's December already, Haruka realises. _Where does the time go?_

"Anyway," Makoto adds, mildly, "Zaki-chan wouldn't need to slip me her number. I just asked her for it."

"Oh," says Haruka.

He isn't really surprised, in retrospect. Of course Makoto would do something like that.

"Have you talked to her properly, Haru?"

 _And of course,_ thinks Haruka, Makoto would ask him something like that.

"Yes," he says. "I asked her how her swimming was, last time. She said it was good."

Makoto, eyebrows raised, takes a tentative sip of his latte and pauses expectantly.

"That's all?" he asks, sounding somewhat chagrined.

"Yeah. What else is there to talk about besides swimming?"

"Did you know she's studying law?"

Haruka had not known this. Now that he does, he considers it, and finds that he is not in the least bit surprised. The Aki he remembers is almost unfairly intelligent, enough to give Rei a run for his money any day; but more than that, Haruka remembers a resolute face by the poolside, the stubbornness of someone who kept a mud-stained muffler, and a smile that never quit.

"That suits her," he says.

Makoto nods. "I think so too."

Haruka takes another long sip of tea. When he puts his cup down, Makoto's watching him thoughtfully.

"Do you want her number?"

Haruka can't think why he would or what he'd do with it. He's still trying to get used to using his phone on a daily basis, or at all. Besides, Aki is right here if he wants to talk to her. Aki is right here even if he can't think of anything to say to her. He doesn't have Makoto's way with people. Then again, Haruka thinks, maybe he doesn't need to, because _Aki_ has Makoto's way with people - at least, she always had, with the Haruka of elementary school - and Haruka has evolved _enough_ of some modicum of self-awareness by now to understand how utterly impossible the Haruka of elementary school used to be.

He takes his phone out of his pocket, hesitates for a second before setting it down on the table and sliding it across to Makoto.

Makoto shakes his head. His smile widens.

Haruka swallows, suppresses the urge to get up and run away, as all his well-honed _Makoto_ instincts are telling him to do right now, when faced with a smile like that.

"You should ask her for it yourself, Haru," he says.

It's no more than a suggestion, the merest _hint_ of an edge in Makoto's voice, but Haruka, as though there were an invisible hand pushing his chair back, finds himself getting to his feet with an exasperated frown on his face.

"Fine," he declares. "I will."

And feeling irrationally put out, he walks over to the counter, and does.

When he comes back, Makoto tells him he is proud of him.

Haruka rolls his eyes and shoots Makoto a glare.

Makoto has the good grace to look sheepish, albeit only slightly.

 

 

**3\. in the company of the most embarrassing friends in the universe (who needs enemies)**

Rin's grin lights up in a way that Haruka remembers, standing beneath a sakura tree in early spring, and when he looks at Aki's face, he knows she's thinking of it too.

“Haru, Haru, _Haru_ \- ”

“Haruka-senpai!”

“This must be _fate_ , it's very romantic - ”

“I'm so happy for you - ”

“But honestly, you're such a cliché I don't know whether to laugh or cry - ”

“Falling in love at a coffee shop - ”

“Hey, did you know that's the name of an English song by some guy called Pigg?”

“Rin-san, please don't make jokes about people's names.”

“It's true! Okay, it goes like this - ”

And as Rin breaks into off-key caterwauling, one hand clapped dramatically over his heart, Haruka regrets absolutely everything about his life leading up to this moment.

"I'm sorry," he says to Aki, who is trying very hard not to laugh. "When I told Rin I'd met you again, he said he wanted to talk to you. So. _Rin_. Talk."

Unconsciously, he realises he's started to hold his laptop further away from him, gingerly, at arm's length, in the desperate and misguided hope that it will distance him from the miscreants on the other side of Skype.

Aki leans forward over the counter. She doesn't wear the braid in her hair any more, but the short, slanted bob remains, longer in the front than the back. She tucks a strand of stray hair behind her ear, and waves eagerly at the screen.

 _Arms,_ thinks Haruka. She's definitely still swimming, and probably a variety of strokes; she'd always been an all-rounder. Her triceps are well-defined. Even Gou would be impressed.

"Hello, Matsuoka-kun!" she greets him. "It's been a while! And - "

"The other guy is Rei," Haruka adds. "I swam with him in high school. Now he's dating Rin. It's a long story."

Rei sputters into the mic. Haruka can tell he is probably blushing red.

"Well, Yazaki-san - "

"No, Rei, don't get suckered! He's just trying to distract from the real topic here!" Rin cuts in.

Haruka risks a peek round the top edge of his screen. Rin has Rei in a headlock, and he's jabbing a finger at the webcam, grinning at Aki, who, to her credit, is holding her own with her smile.

 _A sunflower smile._ That's how it used to be.

Now, in the winter and weathered with age, mellowed with the seasons, Haruka thinks it isn't quite that any more, but it's not that it's any less bright -

More, perhaps, that it is _perennial_. Not like the sun that goes down at night, or a flower that wilts in winter. It does not bloom only in the springtime. It has lasted through the cold.

"What _is_ the real topic, Matsuoka-kun?" Aki asks sweetly.

Rin jerks his head upwards towards Haruka, with uncanny accuracy.

"This guy can be pretty thick, Yazaki-san, if you remember."

Haruka narrows his eyes in protest. " _Hey._ "

Aki doesn't say anything, merely tilts her head to one side and waits for Rin to go on.

"He's probably not going to say anything like this himself, so." Rin clears his throat. "I'll just say it for him. Haru's actually really happy that - "

"I'm going to shut the laptop," Haruka interrupts. "Bye."

And he does, snapping the lid closed faster than Aki can blink.

She looks up at him with appropriate and utmost kindness.

"Matsuoka-kun seems well," she remarks.

" _Too_ well," Haruka mutters. "Can I have a coffee?"

He's too distracted to notice Aki's momentary surprise when she repeats his order, _twice_ , or to do anything but nod absently as he ponders her sympathy and at least eleven different ways to get Rin into trouble with Gou.

Ten minutes later, he's sitting down with a cup of his own cute kitten latte art in front of him, wondering what fresh hell he's ordered for himself.

He thinks about calling Makoto to come drink it. He thinks about having to explain himself. His mind is an absolute blank.

Cursing Rin under his breath, Haruka picks up the cup and braces himself for an unappetising mouthful of bitterness.

 

 

**4\. on a Wednesday, with premeditated intent**

"Will you explain what the hell this is about?"

Haruka scowls, all the better to match Sousuke.

"You should try the coffee here," he says. "Makoto says it's good."

"I should try the coffee here," Sousuke echoes.

Haruka nods.

Sousuke, unmoving, crosses his arms and eyes Haruka warily. He seems to _loom_ even more than Haruka remembers, and Sousuke has done quite a lot of _looming_ in his general direction over the years, so that's saying something, although, on this occasion, it isn't helped by the fact that he's dressed like a Sherpa. His bulky coat looks like it could eat Haruka alive. Not to mention Aki.

Haruka had looked at his watch in the morning, noticed the day of the week, and informed Sousuke over a terse text message that they would meet at this coffee shop.

True enough to Makoto's prodigious skill at information extraction, Aki is making the coffee today. She hasn't noticed them yet. Her attentions appear to be wholly absorbed by some foamy contraption.

"I don't even like coffee," says Sousuke.

Haruka looks away. "Me neither."

The queue shuffles forward, brisk and steady.

Sousuke's sigh is irritable. "So will you explain what the hell this is about?"

"It's rare that you come to visit," says Haruka stubbornly. "So. You should try some good coffee."

"You don't make any sense, as usual - "

"Good afternoon!" chirps the young man at the cashier today. "What can I get you?"

"One latte. And one Earl Grey tea," says Haruka, before Sousuke can complain.

" _Oi_ , Haru - "

Aki looks up. As Haruka places a 1,000 yen note in the money tray, she waves cheerily at him.

Haruka gives her the tiniest of nods in return.

Sousuke, keen-eyed gaze flicking back and forth from Haruka to the baristas' workspace, suddenly grins. For some reason, this irritates Haruka even more than his protestations.

" _Now_ I get it," he murmurs in his low voice, just loud enough for the both of them to hear.

Haruka shoots Sousuke a pointed look, turns and walks towards the coffee pickup area without deigning to respond.

Sousuke, at his heels, continues to plow on like a bulldozer. "You're not here for coffee. You're here to flirt with the cute barista. How romantic. I wouldn't have expected it of you, but I guess there's a first for everything."

"You've been spending too much time with Rin," Haruka mutters.

Sousuke barks out a short, derisive laugh. " _Me?_ Who's the one living an actual coffee shop romcom here?"

"I don't even know what a _coffee shop romcom_ is."

"Newsflash," Sousuke deadpans. "You're the lead character in one."

Haruka frowns. "It sounds terrible."

"You _are_ terrible. I wouldn't pay to watch this movie."

"Shut up," says Haruka.

And Aki, placing two cups on the tray in front of them, smiles her perennial smile.

"Nanase-kun, hi. I made your tea stronger today."

"Thanks," says Haruka.

Sousuke's brows knit in momentary confusion. "You already know each other?"

Haruka looks at Sousuke. "Yazaki, this is Yamazaki. He used to swim for Sano SC. We raced each other a lot."

"Oh!" Aki's eyes widen. "From Sano! Were you friends with Matsuoka-kun, too?"

Sousuke nods. "Yeah. We went to high school together."

"That's wonderful." Aki beams. "It's good to meet you."

She inclines her head, giving Sousuke a little bow.

Sousuke scratches the back of his neck awkwardly and glances at Haruka.

"Yazaki was our classmate in elementary school. She swims too," Haruka adds, somewhat belatedly, and he thinks, _introductions are exhausting_. He is exhausted. He has just about reached the end of his rope with the talking.

He tries to divert his glance elsewhere, study the green and red holly overhead and let Sousuke and Aki talk; not that Sousuke can ever be counted upon, he's learned, to do any talking. He doesn't usually mind that. It's good to be with someone who values silence, sometimes.

This is not one of those times.

Sousuke, maddeningly, says nothing.

And when Aki straightens and turns, it's Haruka she's looking at, and her smile is a sudden sunbeam, pinning Haruka where he stands. He shifts uncomfortably.

"It's really nice to see you're still friends with everyone, Nanase-kun," she says, voice softening like a melting ice-cream in summer.

Haruka, who, contrary to popular belief, _can_ read between the lines when he has to, does not miss a syllable of her unspoken concern. He wonders to himself: _how long have you been worrying about me?_

He reaches for the tray without another word.

Sousuke looks down at his coffee. He looks up.

"Nice Christmas tree art," he says to Aki.

Aki flashes him a grin and a peace sign as they walk away.

Sousuke's gaze lingers at the counter for a moment longer. He smirks, turning back to Haruka.

"I still wouldn't pay to watch this," he says. "But I'm glad I got to see it for free."

"Shut up," says Haruka again.

 

 

**5\. not like a coffee shop romcom, except totally**

_To: Tachibana Makoto_  
_Subject: (no subject)  
_ _makoto. what is a coffee shop romcom_

 _From: Tachibana Makoto_  
_Subject: Um  
_ _Why don't you ask Rin? That sounds like his kind of thing._

 _To: Tachibana Makoto_  
_Subject: (no subject)  
_ _i dont want to talk to rin about this_

 _From: Tachibana Makoto_  
_Subject: ^^;;;  
_ _Okay um, wait one second, I saw this thing on Buzzfeed the other day_

 _To: Tachibana Makoto_  
_Subject: (no subject)  
_ _whats a buzzfeed_

 _From: Tachibana Makoto_  
_Subject: Ok here you go_  
**_Link: 25 Coffee Shop Scenes from Romantic Comedies  
_ ** _I have to go to class now, sorry! But just… read this ^^_

Haruka takes a sip of his tea, and clicks on the link.

As he scrolls down, he expects to be granted some sudden, eye-opening revelation into the events of his life, to see, as one might say, the proverbial light.

He peruses the article with not inconsiderable attention. It is full of pictures, pining and hyperbolic description that makes him want to roll his eyes. Not for the first time, Haruka blatantly judges Makoto's choice of internet reading material behind his back.

He grits his teeth and forces himself to press on.

Through the guitar strains of an instrumental "Last Christmas" in the background, he hears a soft footstep behind him, and turns around.

It's Aki.

"Hi, Nanase-kun," she says, raising her hand in greeting. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I just ended my shift, and saw you were still here, so…"

Out of her apron and plain black uniform, it takes Haruka a moment to register her appearance. Her backpack's on her shoulder, and she's wearing a long red coat with brown buttons that match her hair, a muffler wrapped round her neck. It isn't white. Perhaps that would have been too much of a cosmic coincidence.

"You're not disturbing me. I was just."

He stops short, looking back at his phone.

"Reading this article," he finishes, somewhat lamely.

Aki's gaze wanders over to the empty seat across him. Haruka, after a moment, nods, and she sits down.

"What are you reading?" she asks. "Something for school?"

It's so very much the opposite of that that Haruka, lost for words, hands her his phone without further explanation. Her startled look gives way to bubbling laughter as her thumb flicks down the screen.

"Why are you reading something like this?"

"Makoto sent it to me," says Haruka irritably. "But it's not really like that."

He has not, after all, pulled any shenanigans to slip Aki a cheesy note (why would he? he has her number), or hung around the counter just to get a chance to talk to her. In fact, he's made it something of a point to always sit at a table well out of line of sight. He does not want, and has never wanted, any - what did the article call them - any  _meet-cutes_ , over latte foam on nose tips and messages artfully lettered on cakes. The thought is mildly horrifying. This particular romcom trope seems to Haruka to be full of unnecessary complications.

Aki puts the phone back down on the table.

She clasps her hands, props her chin up and looks at Haruka, and Haruka thinks, this is the first time he's ever seen her at eye level. She was always looking up at him from a bench, or sitting at the water's edge, legs dangling; there were times, too, when he turned his face upward and saw her, reaching a hand down towards him. He has seen Yazaki Aki from all kinds of angles, except -

Straight on.

"It isn't, I agree. I'm sorry everyone keeps teasing you," says Aki, with a rueful grin.

Haruka, emboldened by her understanding, takes a deep breath and lets it out.

The coffee shop still smells of - well - _coffee_. He still doesn't like it. But he has come to know the place, the uneven wooden tables with their rickety legs, the way the back of the chair digs into his spine, the warmth that's hidden in this particular corner, away from the draft.

If there is one thing Haruka can value above all, it is familiarity.

The face across from him is familiar. So is the voice, mellow and strong all at once, the way Haruka likes his tea.

And yet -

 _Some things have to change,_ thinks Haruka, as he considers Tokyo, and moving on, and everything that that entails.

"I never come here for the coffee," he says.

"I know. You don't even like it," says Aki, smiling. "You've always been a good friend, Nanase-kun."

Haruka blinks. "Huh?"

"You come for your friends, don't you? You're always here with someone."

 _Oh,_ thinks Haruka.

The years haven't dulled her edge. Not one bit. She sees right through him, still, to parts of himself that Haruka didn't even know existed, and she lays them bare in ways that make him think they are worth celebrating after all.  _Friendship_.  _Having fun_. He hasn't forgotten any of it, nor her searching gaze on his. She always sought out the truth like a homing beacon.

He looks down at the empty seats next to him.

"I'm alone today," he says.

"Well," says Yazaki Aki, with dancing eyes, "I'm here."

 _Yeah,_ thinks Haruka. So she is.

"Can we go somewhere else for Christmas, then? I don't really want to be here all that much," he asks, abruptly.

Aki laughs.

"Why wait for Christmas?" she asks. "How about now?"

She stands up, and holds a hand out to him.

Haruka takes it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy Landon Pigg's [Falling In Love at a Coffee Shop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erywPdFfORE).


End file.
